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Showing posts with the label winter interest

Removing Ornamental Grasses - Rabbit Winter Hiding Spot - January 2025

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Yesterday, I posted photos of how the (dang!) rabbits had removed the bark from the ground all the way up about 18" on all eight trunks of the apple (fruit) trees that I planted in 2020 as part of a Belgian Fence espalier .  The removal of bark by rabbits during Winter is called "Girdling" and essentially kills the tree.   I said that it is time to 'play for keeps' with these rabbits and the first step took place today with the removal of - what I think - is their hiding place.  These Miscanthus grasses that are in front of the Belgian Fence. See below for the current state of these grasses: They provide a TON of 'Winter Interest' - so like all the other ornamental grasses, I've left them up.  But, that's also provided a place for the rabbits to shelter during the Winter. Now...pay no attention to the fact that we are a Certified Wildlife Habitat.  In fact....look away, please. Because I'm taking these grasses down to the ground and removing t...

Adding More Green Giant Thujas To Back Yard Along Fence - January 2025

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A big part of writing a [garden diary] all-year-around is using the dormant season - like RIGHT NOW, deep in the coldest part of the year - to noodle on garden edits and additions.  I've done it most Winters - educating myself about plants, shrubs and trees.  Sketching out edits to beds.  Thinking about what I should/could add to the garden in various spots. With the temps so low lately, I only get out to the backyard garden to dump our kitchen scraps into the compost bins.  I scurry from the backdoor to the bins in the back of the yard.  And then scurry right back.  So, I only have brief glimpses to notice/document the garden. But, one of the spots that I have been looking at (on these walks) is along the south fence line where we have three Green Giant Thujas that are spaced about five-feet apart.   These three went in the ground in April of 2022 and were small(ish).  Looking back at the photos from when they were planted , the tips of the...

Green Velvet Boxwoods Under Linden Trees - Winter Interest via Evergreen Shrubs - January 2025

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In the Summer of 2023, I planted eleven (11) small (I mean...REALLY small, 1# nursery pots that were on sale for $5 a piece) Green Velvet Boxwood shrubs in a staggered pattern at the feet of the two Greenspire Linden Trees that are currently being trained into a horizontal cordon espalier.   I wanted to add some evergreens to this bed to provide structure, formality and Winter interest.   Today, 18-months-later, those boxwoods are starting to fill-out and provide exactly what I was looking for:  winter interest.   See below for a photo showing the Green Velvet boxwoods and the pair of Linden trees in the snow: I posted a photo of these in May of 2024 when they were putting on their annual, shaggy growth .  This past Summer marked their first full year in the ground.  While still small-in-size, these Boxwoods are providing contrast against the bright-white snow.   These will, with time, get to between three-and-four-feet tall and w...

Winter Interest IB2DWS - Low Snow Pile with Plants - January 2025

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Four-season gardening has been a goal of mine for a number of years.  Or...at least...considering the impact of the four-seasons on the garden vs. thinking *just* about bloom-time and Summer in the garden.  Conifers are a big part of that Winter Interest season and while my garden LACKED them for many years, I've begun to correct that in the past few seasons.  ( I've admitted to making a mistake on conifers and NOW believe in the advice:  "Conifers should come first." ) The original IB2DWs bed (closer to the garage) is a continuous work-in-progress.  I started with some Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses and have added things over the years.   This section typically gets piled high with snow during the Winter; as it is a natural place to put snow that is shoveled off the driveway.  I've posted photos of this area piled high with snow before: h ere's a post from one-year-ago (January 2024) showing that the snow was piled to the top of the Weeping N...

Snow-Covered Spine Tingler Epimedium - January 2025

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A few days back, I posted a photo of some snow-covered Angelia Sedum groundcover that was providing a little bit of Winter Interest near our back stoop.  On my way out to dump the kitchen compost bin in the larger bins in back, I stopped to look at some other groundcover that was 'showing up' in the snow:  Spine Tingler Epimedium.   Below is a photo showing the three plants - that I put in the ground in Spring 2023 :  There, amongst the light snow and leaf litter is the dried-out, rigid and spike-edged foliage of Spine Tingler.   These have fared a bit better than the Amber Queen varieties, so perhaps a few more of these should be on my list at the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale in 2025.  

Hemlock Tips - Winter Interest - December 2024

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There's growth on the tips of this Hemlock tree just waiting for Spring to arrive.  

Even More Praise for Autumn Ferns - December 2024

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The garden is sleeping.  It has put itself to bed - with everything going dormant.  Everything...that is....except for some evergreens and semi-evergreens.  Evergreens - like conifers - are what I think of when it comes to winter interest.  But...semi-evergreens are something that I continue to learn about every season.  And...the shining star of my own semi-evergreens continues to be Autumn Ferns.   Have a look at these Ferns below.  This is Christmas Day.  And, everything is bare, brown and dry.  But...these?  Still showing off with their green fronds.  More Autumn Ferns needs to be near the top of my 2025 planting list.  I've said it before, but I haven't delivered as much as I'd like to on Autumn Ferns.  Yesterday's post about a Fairy Garden?  I mention removing Ostrich Ferns.  What should I replace them with in that spot?  Autumn Ferns need to be part of the equation.

Green Giant Thujas - Winter Interest - December 2024

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I planted some Green Giant Thujas back in the Spring of 2022 and....now...coming up on three years later...they are starting to have 'presence' in the garden.   Perhaps it is because everything else is in dormancy.  Or...more likely...because these have put on size - height and width.   See below for the three along the southside of the property.    I'm now thinking of putting a few more of these in the backyard - come Spring 2025.  Screening trees along the back sides of the garden - including adding even more along this same fenceline.

Top Branching Growth - Espalier Trees - Greenspire Lindens - December 2024

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Each late Winter, I prune up the pair of Greenspire Lindens that are formal in shape via espalier.  They need a bunch of pruning along the top level of the horizontal cordon.  There are waterspouts EVERYWHERE.  And, this year is no different.  With these trees recently dropping their leaves, the structure has been exposed and I can see all the top-growth from that top level.  See below for the pair of trees: Come February, I'll dormant prune ALL of those off and bring it back into shape.  

Back Stoop Spring Grove Ginkgo Trees - Winter Structure - December 2024

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Once I posted the structure of the front-yard Spring Grove Ginkgo tree , I figured I should include the back stoop versions (there is one on each side) in the [garden diary], too.   Both of these have a one-year head start, but are showing a bunch more height than the front-yard tree.

Spring Grove Ginkgo - Winter Structure - December 2024

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Yesterday, I posted a photo of the small Skylands Spruce in our front yard island bed.  Today, is a photo showing its companion:  the Spring Grove (dwarf) Ginkgo tree that was planted this season, too.  Unlike the Skylands Spruce, the Spring Grove Ginkgo tree is naked right now; it dropped all its leaves earlier this Fall.   And that's revealed a STRIKING structure.  Pointy and sharp.  The branching provides a bit of 'Winter interest' with a handful of main branches and dozens of short, straight secondary branches emanating like spikes.  See below:

Angelina Sedum Wintertime in Zone 6A - January 2024

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I have a couple of colonies of Angelina Sedum planted in the small, rectangular beds on either-side-of our back stoop that started as a volunteer and have survived over a number of years.  Last Spring, I planted a pair of Spring Grove Ginkgos in the beds and transplanted the sedum from one side to the other .   This particular Sedum has been pretty tough.  Tolerant of our (previously Zone 5b) now 6a Winters.  And some foot-traffic.  This year, the timing of the VERY cold weather was paired with a few-days-prior arrival of a few inches of snow.  That meant that there was a natural snow blanket for insulation when the temps dropped below zero.  Look back at these photos from a few weeks ago showing the Spring Grove Ginkgo silhouette .  Plenty of insulation.  How did this Angelina Sedum do with winter?  Below are a couple of photos showing the post-snow (still some to melt) condition: And...while there is still *plenty* of Winter remai...

Spring Grove Dwarf Ginkgos - Winter Interest, Buds and Marcescence - January 2024

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The pair of Spring Grove Ginkgo trees (dwarf Ginkgos) that I planted this past growing season on either side of our rear stoop are worth documenting in the garden diary.  Being winter, they're clearly dormant, but they're doing some interesting things:  They're clearly exhibiting some foliar marcescence with many of their leaves clinging to the limbs.   And, they're covered with buds.  That are stud'd everywhere.  On the limbs.  On the trunk.  At the tips of branches.  And all along them.  They're quite different and really nice to look at when contrasted with he white snow.  Here's a pair of photos showing the same one: the north-side Spring Grove Ginkgo .  The second one is planted by the Grill on the southside of the stoop, but I am not including photos here. The snow cover on the ground is a few inches thick and I'm hoping that it is providing a nice blanket of insulation on this young, one-year-in-the-ground dwarf ginkgo....

Borrowed View: Snow-Covered Linden Trees At Night - January 2024

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One evening, I peeked out at the backyard and noticed this combo view (part ours, part borrowed) of two different Linden trees.  Ours is a Greenspire Linden that is trained into a horizontal cordon espalier; backed by our cedar fence.  And just behind and lit-from-below is our neighbors (unknown variety) of a Linden Tree that is covered in the day's snow.  Quite a look isn't it?  I posted about "Winter Interest" just a few days ago and mentioned that perhaps as a result of lacking conifers, the majority of the "winter interest" in our garden is from snow + structure.  Here...just add "light".  And you have a little bit of winter garden magic.

Winter Interest Around The Backyard - January 2024

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This morning, we're getting walloped by a big snow storm, which will leave behind six-or-so inches of new, fresh white snow.  Yesterday, before that arrived, I walked our kitchen compost out to the bins (and of course, dumped it in the active compost collection bin with the "Feed Me" sign hanging on it ), figuring that it might be a couple of days before I was going to get back there.   On my way back to the house, I was struck by some of the 'winter interest' that I came across in the garden.  Most of the time, it sure feels like when I read about 'winter interest' that they're mostly talking about evergreens.  Shrubs, trees, etc.  And, those surely provide interest during the winter.  But, as I've posted about (and have some regret about), I've made a long-term mistake by neglecting conifers as a key part of our garden and rather focused on deciduous trees and perennials.    I've begun to address that conifer situation and will continue ...

First Snow on the New Conifer Garden - December 2023

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I've mentioned that I failed/made a big gardening mistake when it comes to conifers.  The rule of: "Conifers Should Come First" is something that I wasn't aware of, until this Fall.  That's when I went about a dizzy'ing spring of planting my own conifer garden IB2DWs.  What's so great about conifers?  Texture and structure are a couple of big reasons to believe in conifers.  But, four-season gardening is (maybe?) the biggest for this Zone 5b (Now Zone 6a!!!) gardener.   Everything around here goes dormant.  Some perennials like hostas just totally disappear.  Grasses hang around all Winter.  Decidious trees go bare.  But, conifers?  They stand tall and proud during the Winter.   This past week, we had our first real snow fall of the year.  And, the dwarf conifer garden was a new highlight.  Below are a few photos showing some of the conifers covered in snow:

Two Snow Queen Oakleaf Hydrangeas Planted - June 2023

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Yesterday, I posted details of how I had to move a small Tuff Stuff Red Mountain Hydrangea to make room for some new Oakleaf Hydrangeas.   I had been holding a few spots for some shade-tolerant Hydrangeas (per our plan) that extend the row of Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas from our kitchen window bed all the way back to the south Oak tree.   The plan calls for a mix of Oakleaf and Tardiva Hydrangeas - both shade-tolerant flowering shrubs - to fill in the remaining space.   I was on a trip to Menards and came across a pair of Oakleaf Hydrangeas that weren't on my radar:  Snowqueen Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  Here's the tag on the shrub: And, here below is the full tag: That idea of Winter protection for the first year is new (to me).  Maybe I can do leaf mulch with these, too? The Missouri Botanical Garden has this page up with this description that had me at the word 'upright': SNOW QUEEN has an upright broad, rounded habit and typically grows 4-6' tal...

Winter Marcescence on London Plane Tree - January 2023

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Posting a photo here in the tree diary to show that the young London Plane Tree that I planted in Spring 2020 is exhibiting some Winter foliar marcescence with a series of brown, dry leaves clinging to the branches.   This tree - the Grampy tree ( because I used some $$$ from him for my birthday to buy ) was planted in the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 .  After a brief period of transplant-stress, the tree seemed to get on just fine.  This past season, I was able to water this due to it being inside the footprint of some of the 2022-planted Green Giant Thujas - so it seemed to be in a fine spot with growth.  However...this is the first year that I've really noticed - or documented - the tree holding on to some dead leaves.  See below for a photo of the tree in early January 2023: Seeing this tree cling to some of the leaves is a good note for the tree diary - and something that is going to cause me to look over the rest of these trees - including the o...

More Praise for Autumn Ferns in Winter - January 2023

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This Fall, I made a pretty big change in my fern thinking.  I've long talked about how shade gardening is where I find my joy and how hostas and ferns have emerged as my favorite plants in the garden.  And, my first love with ferns was the Ostrich Fern.   I inherited some Ostrich Ferns back in Elmhurst and -for the first time - had success with ferns.  They grew, stood up and even multiplied.  I shared them with my mother-in-law and she grew them in her shade garden successfully.  And, I fostered some of them over there, too .  I even brought some to our house in Downers Grove - including collecting some from my sister-in-laws's teardown garden .   Over the years, I've moved them around and have transplanted them in some spots - including under the tree swing tree and on the side of our house .  I've historically tried to use them *AS MUCH AS I COULD*.   But, then...the change I mentioned above happened.  I started n...

Totem Pole Switch Grass Winter Interest - January 2023

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Planted in 2021, this will be the third growing season for a singular large-scale Switch Grass that is planted in our front porch bed: the Totem Pole Switch Grass .  I've been able to 'get to know' this grass a bit over the years and have discovered that it is late starte r - well after most grasses emerge for the year.  And that every year since planting, the grass has grown taller and taller .  On a recent warm(er) afternoon this past weekend, I wandered around the front beds to have a look at some plants and came across this grass.  And was struck by the seed heads.  And how it provides a really nice look in Winter.  See below for the current state of the Switch Grass: With the removal of the declining Norway Maple and the planting of the Triumph Elm, this front yard bed is one of my main/top priorities for 2023.  Do I leave this grass here?  Add more of them?  Time to make a plan.